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Jenna Schimmell, 8, and her mother Melissa Schimmell build a small robot together using legos during an Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library summer robotics program held at Red Bank Library in Evansville, Ind., on Monday, June 26, 2017. The Red Bank library robotics camp runs from 2 to 3:30 p.m. daily through Friday.
SAM OWENS / EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

Jehanna Fisher, 9, builds a robot using legos during a Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library summer robotics program held at Red Bank Library in Evansville, Ind., on Monday, June 26, 2017. After all the children finished building their robots, they learned how to program the small machines to move and make noise.
SAM OWENS / EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

Evan Broyles, 8, catches a lego robot before it runs off the table during an Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library summer robotics program held at Red Bank Library in Evansville, Ind., on Monday, June 26, 2017. Broyles, whose father is a robotics engineer, learned how to build and program a robot on his own.
SAM OWENS / EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

Jehanna Fisher clicks through a series of directions as she builds a lego robot during an Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library summer robotics program held at Red Bank Library in Evansville, Ind., on Monday, June 26, 2017. The Red Bank library robotics camp runs from 2 to 3:30 p.m. daily through Friday.
SAM OWENS / EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

Jenna Schimmell, 8, and her mother Melissa Schimmell build a small robot together using legos during an Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library summer robotics program held at Red Bank Library in Evansville, Ind., on Monday, June 26, 2017. The Red Bank library robotics camp runs from 2 to 3:30 p.m. daily through Friday.
SAM OWENS / EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

Jenna Schimmell, 8, looks at directions on an iPad as she builds a small robot using legos during an Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library summer robotics program held at Red Bank Library in Evansville, Ind., on Monday, June 26, 2017. The Red Bank library robotics camp runs from 2 to 3:30 p.m. daily through Friday.
SAM OWENS / EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS

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A robotics camp for second- through fourth-graders runs daily this week at Evansville Public Library's Red Bank branch, part of the library’s summer programming. While the room was close to full Monday, there are still a few open spots.

Kids built an explorer robot from a Lego kit and learned to program the robot to move forward and stop. Video instructions from the kit showed the engineers how to build bots for speed and strength.

“It’s to introduce them to the concept, a little bit of coding,” said assistant branch manager Kimberly Barber. “This explains it on a level that a kid who’s never been introduced to robotics before can understand it.”

Robots could help with household chores “like getting something down from a really high shelf,” said Jenna Schimmell, 8. She and her mother, Melissa Schimmell, worked together to build a two-wheeled robot that looked like a Mars rover without solar panels.

On the other side of the room, 7-year-old Ian Mefford – wearing a shirt printed with a robot diagram – clicked through the instructions to put together his own explorer.

“This is like his dream come true,” said Lisa Mefford, his mother. “Robots and Legos together.”

They homeschool year-round, she said, so she checks the library event calendar often to find events Ian might like. They’ve also visited Wild Wednesdays, a program at EVPL where kids take on engineering and science projects such as constructing a tower of notecards that can support a stack of cookies.

“We’ve been so happy with what the library provides,” Mefford said.

Later this week, kids will learn about robot designs that mimic animals, to understand how engineers think about design.

“Why would you want a robot that moves like a fish? Like a frog?” said Barber, who teaches the class. “What would you use that for?”

Even though the classes come with instructions, kids love the chance to explore and show their thought process, said Mallorie Cloum, EVPL communications content strategist.

“Kids really like the opportunity to be creative,” Cloum said. “It’s an hour where they get to use their brains and think about things in new and challenging ways.”

Barber said the robotics camp had good turnout at Red Bank and the other library branches that have hosted it.

“The kids are really enjoying it,” she said. “We encourage parents to participate with them and they’re having as much fun as the kids are.”

The robotics camp runs 2-3:30 p.m. daily through Friday at the Red Bank library, 120 S. Red Bank Road in Evansville. Register online at evpl.org. West branch will host a robotics camp 3:30 to 5 p.m. August 7 to 11.